Can Excessive Drinking Cause a Stroke? The Press Tribune -

You’re about to grab another drink when you pause for a moment. You wonder if you should stop for the night.

You might also wonder, “Can excessive drinking cause a stroke?”

Consuming too much alcohol can lead to health problems and other issues. If you’re struggling with an alcohol addiction, you might be putting yourself at risk for these problems.

Continue reading to learn more about the effects of excessive drinking.

Moderate Drinking vs. Binge Drinking

Most experts agree that moderate alcohol consumption can have some benefits. They define moderate drinking as:

Up to one drink per day for women
Up to two drinks per day for men

Having a drink may reduce your risk of developing heart disease and strokes. Small amounts of alcohol may increase your HDL cholesterol, which is good cholesterol. Higher levels of HDL are linked to better heart health.

It may also help you reduce the risk of developing diabetes. There are also some other benefits, including:

Lower risk of developing kidney stones
Improved sleep
Reduced risk of Alzheimer’s

However, excessive alcohol consumption is not healthy. Binge drinking is a term that refers to excessive drinking. Experts define it as:

Women having four or more drinks in two hours
Men having five or more drinks in two hours.

You likely won’t have to worry about the risk of having a stroke if you drink moderately. You may want to consider the health risks if your drinking habits are closer to binge drinking.

Effects of Alcohol Abuse on Your Heart

Your heart needs to beat to keep blood flowing through the body. The heart serves several roles. One of these is to transfer oxygen in the blood throughout your entire body.

A stroke occurs when there is a restriction of blood flow to the brain. When this occurs, the brain cannot receive oxygen. The result is damage to the brain.

While there are different types of strokes, all types can be damaging. Some can even be deadly.

Most strokes are ischemic strokes. These occur from blood clots in the arteries. These blood clots block blood flow to the brain.

Consuming too much alcohol can cause a stroke. It might be a mini-stroke, which is less serious than a massive stroke. However, it could also be a massive stroke, causing major brain damage.

When you consume alcohol, it can lead to high blood pressure. This is especially true if you abuse alcohol by binge drinking day after day.

High blood pressure leads to strokes, but it can also lead to heart attacks and heart disease. High blood pressure may have no symptoms at first, but some people experience headaches from this condition.

Untreated high blood pressure is often the reason that alcohol abuse leads to strokes. If you’re worried about this, you should do a few things.

First, seek help for your alcohol abuse. There are treatment facilities that can help you break your addiction. Not only will this help you protect your heart and brain, but it also provides many other benefits.

Secondly, learn the common stroke symptoms. Then, you’ll know if you need to seek treatment if you experience health issues.

When you have a stroke, you might feel numbness on one side of your body. You might have trouble speaking, walking, or thinking. You might also experience vision problems.

Other Effects of Excessive Drinking

Excessive drinking can damage your heart and brain. It can also lead to other problems.

Health Issues

First, it can affect your liver. Consuming too much alcohol for an extended period of time damages your liver. It kills liver cells and may cause fatty liver disease.

Secondly, it may increase your risk of developing cancer. Alcohol can kill cells in your body, causing damage. This may lead to liver, breast, or intestinal cancer.

Additionally, it may cause digestive issues. You may increase your risk of pancreatitis and other digestive problems.

Emotional Issues

Alcoholism is an addiction, and most addictions increase a person’s chances of emotional problems. Alcoholism often leads to depression, anxiety, and other mental health concerns.

Unfortunately, feeling depressed or anxious can cause a person to drink more. Drinking more might be the only thing that relieves these feelings. This is a vicious cycle that interferes with breaking an alcohol addiction.

Relational Issues

Excessive alcohol consumption may also lead to relational issues. You might worry your family if you drink too much. Your spouse might give you an ultimatum.

Your alcohol might also interfere with your job, causing you to struggle to earn money. You could experience financial issues from this or from spending too much money on booze.

What to Do if You’re Struggling?

As you’re reading this, you might wonder, “Am I an alcoholic?” If you’re asking this question, it should be a sign that you need help.

You might discover you’re not an alcoholic. If this is the case, you might not need professional help. However, you might discover that you have an alcohol addiction.

If you do, you can get help. Getting help is the smartest decision you could make. Professional help can assist with breaking the addiction.

Breaking the addiction will lead to a better and healthier life. When you stop drinking, you can reduce your risks of stroke and heart attack. You’ll be able to control your blood pressure more easily.

Professional treatment facilities specialize in treating alcohol addiction. They also assist with mental health treatment. Many people struggle with both.